That seems to be a perennial problem with Nankins. No matter how safely they're packaged, they don't ship well at all. I think it has something to do with the size and shape of the eggs, themselves. Because they are so small and rounded, any sloshing at all can disturb the embryo, breaking any veining that's begun to form. No veins, no development, no chicks.
Then there's incubating. Most eggs get a better hatch rate in an incubator, but not Nankins. They seem to need Mama talking to and turning them. The one exception I've heard to that is from a lady who used to pull her own eggs, put them directly into position in her own incubator, then start it as soon as it was full enough and before the first eggs were very old. From what I understand, her bator was in the people-part of her coop, with only a wire wall separating it from the chickens. Maybe they heard enough chicken-speak that way! She claimed a 95% hatch rate ... but that was years ago and she never responded back for me to ask more about it.
All that said, Hello Artsyrobin! Where are you located? I'm in Maryland.
